Lionel Robbins' lectures on the history of economic thought comprise one of the greatest accounts since World War II of the evolution of economic ideas. This volume features these lectures. It covers a broad chronological range, including Plato, Aristotle, Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, Marx, and Alfred Marshall.

List of FiguresForewordIntroductionAAnticipations3Lecture 1Introduction - Plato5Lecture 2Plato and Aristotle16Lecture 3Aquinas and the Scholastics26Lecture 4Pamphleteers - Money (Oresme, Bodin, "W.S.")35Lecture 5Pamphleteers - Mercantilism (Malynes, Misselden, Mun)46Lecture 6Sir William Petty55Lecture 7Child and Locke (Interest)66BEmergence of Systems75Lecture 8Cantillon77Lecture 9Cantillon (cont.) - Physiocracy86Lecture 10Physiocrats - Turgot95Lecture 11Locke and Hume on Property - Hume on Money104Lecture 12Hume on Interest and Trade - Precursors of Adam Smith114Lecture 13General Survey of Smith's Intentions - The Wealth of Nations: Analytical (I)125Lecture 14The Wealth of Nations: Analytical (II)133Lecture 15The Wealth of Nations: Analytical (III) - Policy (I)143Lecture 16The Wealth of Nations: Policy (II)153CNineteenth-Century Classicism165Lecture 17General Review - Malthus on Population167Lecture 18Value and Distribution: Historical Origin - Analytical (I)176Lecture 19Value and Distribution: Analytical (II)185Lecture 20Value and Distribution: Analytical (III)192Lecture 21Overall Equilibrium201Lecture 22International Trade210Lecture 23John Stuart Mill219DOther Mid-Nineteenth-Century Thought229Lecture 24Mill (cont.) - Saint-Simon and Marx231Lecture 25Marx (cont.) - List and the Historical School238EBeginnings of Modern Analysis247Lecture 26The Historical School (cont.) - Precursors of Change: Cournot, von Thunen, and Rae249Lecture 27The Marginal Revolution (I): Jevons258Lecture 28The Marginal Revolution (II): Jevons and Menger268Lecture 29The Marginal Revolution (III): Costs (Wieser) - The Pricing of Factor Services (Wieser, Clark, Wicksteed)277Lecture 30Capital Theory: Bohm-Bawerk and Fisher285Lecture 31Walras - Pareto295Lecture 32Marshall303Lecture 33Money: Fisher, Marshall, Wicksell312App. ARobbins' Reading List321App. BRobbins' Writings in the History of Economic Thought331References337Index355

"Everything about this book breathes affection: Lionel Robbins's concern for his students down the decades, the editors' sensitive treatment of their subject, and Professor William Baumol's modest justification for his foreward: 'I was there!'"--Arthur Seldon, Times Literary Supplement "For anyone who has taught a course in the history of economic thought or who has more than a passing interest in the field, this book will be a delight."--Choice "As the 20th century draws to a close, the history of economic thought is beginning to look different, and the publication of Lionel Robbins's London School of Economics lectures on the subject will contribute to this process of rethinking... A welcome relief from the ponderousness of many volumes on this subject."--Virginia Quarterly Review "The book ... is filled with insights... The editors, in order to retain to the fullest the inimitable flavor of Robbins' personality, have wisely not tidied up the text... [They] deserve high praise for making these fine lectures available."--Mises Review "With a profound sense of humor and highly engaging anecdotes, this master teacher provided an unusual opportunity to discover not only the ideas but also the very different frames of reference that inspired the contributions of these great minds to our present understanding of economics. Essential reading."--Library Journal "These lectures reflect Robbins' two personae--the scholarly exponent of the centuries of economic thought and the passionate advocate of classical liberalism. A decisive part of his intellectual armoury was his often elegant, classical spoken English, which evoked a mixture of awe and wonder. In his LSE lectures, which he may have felt were his last epistles to posterity, the language is more informal, sometimes, colloquial, even unfamiliarly conversational."--Arthur Seldon, Times Literary Supplement "Robbins obviously loved the history of economic thought, but the passion that shows through on each page of this book is more than a passion for the history of economics. Robbins loved the discipline of economics itself, and the lectures reflect the gusto with which he had spent his life pursuing its mastery."--Bradley W. Bateman, EH.NET

"Anyone reading these lectures can, and surely will, admire their style, the range of material they cover, the dazzling intellectual brilliance, and the stimulation they provide."—From the foreword by William J. Baumol, New York University

Anyone reading these lectures can, and surely will, admire their style, the range of material they cover, the dazzling intellectual brilliance, and the stimulation they provide. -- From the foreword by William J. Baumol, New York University